Cycling: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what cost-benefit ratios his Department uses to assess the merits of funding Cycling England programmes.

Norman Baker: The original Cycling England programme was proposed by the board and approved by Ministers on the basis of existing research and expertise. Many of the programmes were intended as demonstration projects and provide an evidence base for the potential of local cycle interventions.
	Individual programmes are delivered via a variety of partners, with different criteria for selection, and are subject to ongoing evaluation.
	Analysis of results of the first phase of funding for the initial six cycling demonstration towns has provided a benefit cost ratios in the range 2.6 to 3.5.

Freight

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of arrangements to examine freight arriving at UK ports and airports.

Philip Hammond: I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement made by the Home Secretary in the House on 1 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 632-33.
	The UK Government have temporarily banned all air cargo originating from Yemen and Somalia. I and officials will be meeting with senior representatives of airlines, airports and the air cargo industry over the coming weeks to determine future aviation security strategy.

Liquid Petroleum Gas

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with representatives of the liquid petroleum gas industry the contribution of liquid petroleum gas as a road fuel to meeting the Government's air quality targets.

Norman Baker: To date, I have not received any invitations from representatives of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry wishing to discuss air quality issues.
	Testing conducted for the Department on recent petrol vehicles converted to run on LPG showed no reduction in air quality emissions when running on LPG, although CO2 emissions were slightly reduced. Data from other sources shows similar results. Representatives of the LPG industry are in touch with the Department's officials and will no doubt keep them informed of any new evidence as it emerges.

Departmental Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding to meet staff redundancy costs was identified in her Department's settlement letter in respect of the comprehensive spending review.

Richard Benyon: All pressures on Departments' budgets were taken into account as part of the spending review and settlements were allocated accordingly. The full cost of redundancies will be met from within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' spending review resource DEL settlement.

Landfill: Refrigerators

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to reduce the number of retail refrigerated display cabinets disposed of in landfill sites.

Mark Prisk: I have been asked to reply.
	The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2006 already minimise the amount of discarded electrical and electronic equipment going to landfill. The Regulations place obligations on the producers and business end-users of a wide range of waste electrical equipment, including retail refrigerated display cabinets. These include the financing of the separate collection, subsequent treatment, re-use, recovery, recycling and environmentally sound disposal of such equipment when it becomes waste. Treatment and recycling facilities are approved and regulated by the Environment Agencies to ensure compliance with strict standards that minimise the environmental impacts of their operations and the maximisation of recycling rates.

Nature Conservation: Crime

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were  (a) cautioned,  (b) proceeded against and  (c) convicted of an offence under the (i) Protection of Badgers Act 1992, (ii) Deer Act 1991, (iii) Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996 and (iv) Hunting Act 2004 in each police force area between 2004 and 2009.

Richard Benyon: I have placed the data requested in the Library of the House.

Mental Health

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the recommendations relevant to her Department's policy responsibilities contained in the Foresight Report on Mental Capital and Wellbeing by the Government Office for Science; if she will ensure that her Department takes steps to promote wellbeing; if she will ensure that her Department's policy development process takes account of psychological research into subjective wellbeing; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 8 November 2010
	 Officials in the Home Office reviewed the report at the time of its publication in 2008 and noted that poor mental capacity or well-being could have serious ramifications for criminal behaviour, although causal linkages are not necessarily established. However, many of the solutions lie outside the Home Office remit and we will continue to work with other Government Departments in this area.
	When developing policy we consider psychological research. For example in considering drug policy, the mental health of substance misusers, in particular young people, is particularly relevant. We seek expert advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to inform our policy development of the latest psychological and mental health research and we include the impact upon victims when estimating the costs of crime and of terrorist incidents. These estimates are used within the Department and more widely as inputs into policy appraisal and evaluation (for instance, in impact assessments for new policy proposals and in business cases for procurement projects).
	Earlier this year the Home Office appointed a psychologist, nominated by the British Psychological Society, to its Science Advisory Committee to help ensure that research in psychology is considered as it develops its science and research programmes.

Defence: Communication

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to reduce his Department's expenditure on media and communications;
	(2)  whether the steps he intends to take to reduce his Department's expenditure on media and communications will include redundancies.

Liam Fox: We are taking a number of steps to further reduce expenditure on Defence media and communications. These include reducing the amount we spend on marketing and advertising as part of a Government-wide freeze, merging some functions, reducing the number of websites and internal publications, and deleting posts dealing with lower priority work.
	Details of the reductions in Defence manpower set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review White Paper, will be developed as part of the wider departmental implementation of SDSR and the work of the Defence Reform Unit.
	The scale of post reductions across Ministry of Defence will require redundancy or early release schemes for both military and civilian personnel. It is not possible at this stage to say whether it will be necessary to include media and communications personnel within those schemes.

Defence: Procurement

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely effect of reductions in his Department's budget on  (a) Rolls-Royce and  (b) other companies and their suppliers.

Peter Luff: The industrial implications of the key strategic defence and security review choices were given careful consideration. We have not made a specific assessment of the impact of the reduction in the Department's budget on Rolls-Royce or any other individual companies.
	As part of the SDSR implementation process, we are now engaging in an extensive programme of commercial negotiations, some of which will lead to the cancellation of contracts. This work will focus on the areas where there have been the most significant changes in the SDSR, but is expected to involve all of the Ministry of Defence's key suppliers.

Trident Submarines

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of extending the life of the current fleet of Vanguard submarines to 2028.

Liam Fox: Detailed costings are at an early stage, but to accommodate the deferral of the successor submarine in service date from 2024-28, we expect to spend around an additional £1.2 billion in maintaining the Vanguard Class.
	The overall impact of the changes identified by the value for money study and reported in the strategic defence and security review will reduce costs by £3.2 billion over the next 10 years.

Arrest Warrants

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  which  (a) individuals,  (b) organisations and  (c) foreign governments were invited to comment on his Department's note of 20 March 2010 on arrest warrants-universal jurisdiction;
	(2)  what  (a) individuals,  (b) organisations and  (c) foreign governments responded to his Department's note of 20 March 2010, on arrest warrants-universal jurisdiction; and whether he plans to publish those responses.

Kenneth Clarke: The following organisations and individuals were invited to comment on the note of March 2010:
	the Lord Chief Justice
	the Senior Presiding Judge
	the Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate)
	the Justices' Clerks' Society
	the Criminal Bar Association
	the Law Society
	Liberty
	JUSTICE
	Amnesty International
	the District Bench (Magistrates Courts) Legal Committee
	the Jewish Leadership Council.
	Comments were received from:
	the Justices' Clerks' Society
	the Criminal Bar Association
	Liberty
	JUSTICE
	the Jewish Leadership Council
	Hickman and Rose, Solicitors
	the Board of Deputies of British Jews
	Labour Friends of Israel
	Middle East Monitor
	the Palestinian Forum of Britain.
	The comments have not been published but have been made available on request.
	No foreign governments were invited to comment and none did so.

Arrest Warrants

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what meetings he has had with representatives of foreign governments on universal jurisdiction and arrest warrants since 20 March 2010.

Kenneth Clarke: I have had no such meetings.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  in respect of how many cases under consideration by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority the claimant had not been notified of a resolution on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of those cases had been filed more than  (a) six,  (b) 12,  (c) 18 and  (d) 24 months prior to that date;
	(2)  how many compensation awards to victims of crime are outstanding; and how many such people have been waiting for such awards for more than  (a) three months,  (b) six months,  (c) nine months and  (d) one year.

Crispin Blunt: The information requested is set out in the following table
	
		
			   Number 
			 Outstanding cases as at 30 Sept 2010 49,667 
			 Cases less than six months 24,320 
			 Greater than six but less than 12 months 9,265 
			 Greater than 12 but less than 18 months 6,817 
			 Greater than 18 but less than 24 months 2,448 
			 Greater than 24 months 6,817

Employment Tribunals Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 27 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 350-1W, on the Employment Tribunals Service, how much was paid out in compensation in each category in each such year.

Jonathan Djanogly: Compensation awards are recorded by the Tribunal Service for the discrimination and unfair dismissal jurisdictions. For other types of claims any award by the Employment Tribunal will be a statutory entitlement, such as a redundancy payment or unpaid paid wages, rather than an award of compensation. Table 1 shows the compensation awards of which the Tribunal is aware for the financial years 2007-08 to 2009-10.
	Further, statistical information published annually by the Tribunals Service includes a breakdown of the maximum awards, median awards and average awards in each type of case where such data is recorded centrally. To set the information in Table 1 in context, Table 2 shows the median awards made in each jurisdiction, in each of the three relevant financial years. In 2009-10, the median award across all jurisdictions for which the Tribunals Service collates data was £5,056.
	
		
			  Table 1: Total compensation awarded in discrimination and unfair dismissal claims in financial years 2007-08 to 2009-10 
			  £ 
			   Financial year 
			  Jurisdiction  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Unfair Dismissal 20,564,500 19,819,100 26,319,300 
			 Race Discrimination 946,800 2,183,900 1,263,700 
			 Sex Discrimination 1,700,700 1,907,300 2,924,900 
			 Disability Discrimination 1,796,100 2,206,000 3,802,300 
			 Religious Belief Discrimination 6,400 31,800 34,200 
			 Sexual Orientation Discrimination 60,600 94,700 305,800 
			 Age Discrimination 73,300 186,200 306,100 
			 Total 25,148,500 26,429,100 34,956,200 
			  Notes: 1. The compensation figures are those of which the Tribunal is aware, The Tribunals keeps records on compensation awarded for the discrimination and Unfair dismissal jurisdictions. 2. All judgments are held in the public registry in Bury St Edmunds or Glasgow. 3. All figures are independently rounded and thus may not add to totals. The following conventions have been used: Values from 100 to 999 are rounded to nearest 10; Values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest 100.  Source: ET Annual Reports 2007-08 to 2009-10 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Median compensation awarded in discrimination and unfair dismissal claim in financial years 2007-08 to 2009-10 
			  £ 
			   Financial year 
			  Jurisdiction  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Unfair Dismissal 4,000 4,269 4,903 
			 Race Discrimination 8,120 5,172 5,392 
			 Sex Discrimination 5,200 7,000 6,275 
			 Disability Discrimination 8,363 7,226 8,553 
			 Religious Belief Discrimination (1)- 4,291 5,000 
			 Sexual Orientation Discrimination 2,103 15,351 5,000 
			 Age Discrimination 1,526 3,000 5,868 
			 (1) Not recorded.  Notes: 1. Compensation awarded is that of which the tribunal is aware and entered onto IT systems. For awards in cases of Discrimination there is no statutory cap. 2. The Tribunals keeps records on compensation awarded for the discrimination and Unfair dismissal jurisdictions. 3. All judgments are held in the public registry in Bury St Edmunds or Glasgow. 4. Religious Belief Discrimination: there were only two awards recorded centrally in FY 2007-08; therefore, the average and median values are the same, £3,203.  Source: ET Annual Reports 2007-08 to 2009-10

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the £2.9 billion allocated to climate finance in the comprehensive spending review includes all of the UK's £1.5 billion share of the fast-start finance pledged at Copenhagen.

Stephen O'Brien: No. Part of the UK's Fast Start commitment will be spent in 2010-11, before the new spending review period, which runs from 2011-12 to 2014-15. Spending on Fast Start in 2011-12 and 2012-13 will come from the International Climate Fund (ICF), which is budgeted for in the new spending review period.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Cotton

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has undertaken of the effects of European Union cotton subsidies on farmers in sub-Saharan Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: The UK Government have supported significant research into the impacts of cotton subsidies on African farmers, including EU cotton subsidies. These subsidies have a significant negative impact on farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and their removal is a key objective of the UK Government.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) will work closely with DEFRA to reform the EU Common Agricultural Policy and eliminate direct support to the EU cotton sector.

Google

Robert Halfon: To ask the Attorney-General what representations the Crown Prosecution Service has received on prosecution of Google for illegal offences under  (a) the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and  (b) the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 in respect of its Street View project; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was contacted by Avon and Somerset police in May of this year for advice on what its likely view would be on prosecuting Google for potential offences arising out of its "Street View" project. The CPS position is that if, following an investigation, a file were to be submitted to the CPS, then the case would be reviewed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and dealt with accordingly. No other representations are known to have been received, although such requests would not be collated centrally.

Offences Against the Person Act 1861: Prosecutions

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions the Crown Prosecution Service has brought under section 35 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 for the offence of wanton and furious driving in the last five years; how many such prosecutions there have been in each such year; and what proportion of the prosecutions relating to the riding of a bicycle in each such year resulted in a conviction with a  (a) custodial sentence of (i) two years and (ii) between one and two years and (iii) less than one year,  (b) fine and  (c) community sentence order.

Edward Garnier: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service identify the number of offences charged under Section 35 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 in which a prosecution commenced, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted. During the last five years the number of these offences was as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005-06 33 
			 2006-07 26 
			 2007-08 18 
			 2008-09 31 
			 2009-10 25 
		
	
	CPS records do not identify the number of defendants prosecuted for specific offences. Rather, they show the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts. CPS records do not identify the proportion of offences in which a bicycle was involved.
	The following table outlines the total number of people sentenced under the above Act for causing bodily harm by furious driving where that was the principal offence sentenced. The Ministry of Justice data does not record how many of these cases involved bicycles.
	
		
			  Persons sentenced to immediate custody, by sentence band, or other outcome for causing bodily harm by furious driving( 1) , England and Wales, 2005-09( 2, 3) 
			  Outcome  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Total sentenced 8 7 5 11 12 
			 Immediate custody 2 4 0 4 5 
			  Of which:  
			 Less than one year 1 3 0 1 3 
			 Over one year and less than two years 7 1 0 3 2 
			 2 years 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Fine l 0 0 0 1 
			 Community sentence 4 1 1 2 3 
			 Suspended sentence 0 2 4 5 3 
			 Discharges 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1) Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.35 (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of staff redundancy in each of the next four years.

Jeremy Hunt: Determining optimal work force reforms in order to live within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport spending review resource DEL settlement is an ongoing process.
	The Department is not able to provide an accurate estimate of the cost of redundancies as yet for each of the next four years as we, alongside other public sector bodies across government, are awaiting the outcome of the Superannuation Bill which is due to be finalised in December 2010.

University Teaching: Italy

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs What the outcome was of his recent meeting with the president of the Association of Foreign Lecturers in Italy on the rights of UK citizens teaching in universities in Italy; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: I met the President of the Association of Foreign Lecturers in Italy, Professor Petrie, on 28 October. I said that I would raise the issue with the Italian Minister for European Affairs, the Italian ambassador to the UK and the European Commissioner for Employment. Our British embassy in Rome will also meet members of the association and Italian Government officials.
	It is wrong and contrary to the spirit of non-discrimination in the single market that the "lettori" should still be denied their rights. I shall continue to press the Italian Government on this issue.

China: Human Rights

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department monitors the human rights record of Chinese state-owned enterprises which have operations in Africa.

Jeremy Browne: The Government attaches high importance to responsible business practices in Africa. In May 2010, the Department for International Development supported an international conference in Beijing on 'Corporate Social Responsibility and African Development'. The conference provided an opportunity for delegates from China, Africa, US and the EU to discuss how to promote and practice responsible business that can benefit Africa.
	We have an active programme of engagement with China on Africa issues, including an annual official-level UK-China dialogue on Africa. The most recent round took place in Beijing in October 2010.

European Union

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress he has made on his proposals to repatriate powers from the EU to the UK; what opportunities for the UK to repatriate powers from the EU he expects in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Government's priority has been the EU Bill. The aim of the forthcoming Bill is to increase democratic and parliamentary control, scrutiny and accountability over EU decision making. The Bill will introduce a 'referendum lock'. This referendum lock will ensure that any proposed future treaty, or treaty amendment, that transferred competences or areas of power from the UK to the EU would be subject to a referendum.
	Our national priority is getting our budget under control, and that includes getting the EU budget under control. We have had a significant success at the October European Council in doing that, not just for this budget but in framing the debate for the next multi-annual EU budget. That is what we will be focussing on in the months ahead.
	In fulfilment of the coalition agreement we have begun initial work on the balance of the EU's competences. In addition we will continue to work to limit the application of the working time directive in the United Kingdom.

Iran: Higher Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of restrictions imposed by the government of Iran on university courses in  (a) law,  (b) philosophy,  (c) management,  (d) psychology,  (e) political science and  (f) women's studies and human rights in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of reports of restrictions on a number of social science university courses in Iran, including reports that no new departments will be opened and existing courses will have their content revised. Restrictions to women's studies and human rights courses are of particular concern and we will continue to monitor these developments closely.

Iran: Iraq

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent reports he has received of the  (a) supply and  (b) training by Iran of militias and insurgents in Iraq; and if he will make a statement; [R]
	(2)  what recent reports he has received on the supply to al-Qaeda of suicide vests by the government of Iran; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Alistair Burt: We have not seen recent reports of Iran supplying suicide vests to al-Qaeda. But we have longstanding and serious concerns about Iranian financial and material support to militia groups in Iraq, and the Taliban. We have repeatedly called on Iran to work with the international community to build a stable and secure future for the region.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Government of Iran complies with its international obligations in relation to nuclear non-proliferation.

Alistair Burt: The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to intensify pressure on Iran to comply with its obligations. We have supported unprecedented UN and EU sanctions to this end. We are fully focussed on a diplomatic resolution to this issue and are using all channels to urge Iran to enter into negotiations.

North Korea: Nuclear Power

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Government of North Korea complies with its international obligations in relation to nuclear non-proliferation.

Jeremy Browne: The UK remains deeply concerned by North Korea's illicit nuclear weapons programme, which we regard as a threat to regional and international security. We strongly support the tough sanctions imposed by UN Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874. These are targeted to limit North Korea's proliferation activities, and we continue to work closely with international partners to ensure that these measures are robustly implemented. We hope that the Six-Party Talks process, which we view as the most realistic mechanism for making progress towards denuclearisation, recommences soon. In the meantime, we urge North Korea to refrain from any further provocative actions.

Dental Services: Training

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he gave to the training provided for newly-qualified dentists when formulating his proposals for the new contract for NHS dentistry.

Simon Burns: We are committed, following consultation and piloting, to introducing a new dentistry contract with a focus on improving quality, achieving good dental health and increasing access to national health service dentistry. We will be consulting patients, the NHS and the dental profession including the postgraduate dental deans who are responsible for quality assuring the vocational training, which newly qualified dental graduates, are required to undertake before they may practise in the NHS. Since this training is undertaken in primary care dental practices, the dentists should be able to familiarise themselves with the new contractual arrangements at an early stage in their careers.

Health Education: Young People

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have for providing teenagers with access to information and advice on making healthy lifestyle choices in schools.

Anne Milton: We will outline our plans for helping teenagers to make healthy choices in the forthcoming public health white paper. In addition, the Department for Education wants all young people to benefit from high quality personal social health and economic teaching and is currently considering how best to ensure this.

Hospitals: Smoking

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect of implementation of a ban on smoking in psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric wards of hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: There is clear evidence that the smokefree legislation is working very well and almost all enclosed workspaces and public places including mental health units are free from second hand smoke and the dangers to health which arise from exposure to secondhand smoke. Public support for the smokefree law is high and continues to grow. Even a majority of smokers now support the law. We will keep working on the evidence base for tobacco control and will say more about our plans in the public health white paper.
	There are significant health inequalities associated with having a mental illness. 70%, of those resident in mental health units smoke compared to 21%, of the general population. Statistics show that the desire to stop smoking is as strong in those with mental illnesses as it is in those who do not. People with severe mental illness die on average 20 years sooner than the average and the majority of these deaths are smoking related. It is right that the incidence of smoking related early death is addressed across the population regardless of race, religion, social status, physical or mental health.

Medical Treatments: Exports

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received on the adequacy of supply of medicinal products in the NHS; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what representations he has received on amendment of the Medicines Act 1968 to prevent the export of medicinal products that are in short supply in the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will bring forward legislative proposals in his forthcoming Health Bill to prevent the export of medicinal products that are in short supply in the UK.

Paul Burstow: Ministers have had representations from supply chain organisations, health care professionals and patients, on the issue of medicines supply including issues relating to the Medicines Act. The Department, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders are working collaboratively to better understand and mitigate the impact of supply difficulties so that patients receive the medicines they need.
	The purpose of the 2010 Health and Social Care Bill is to take forward the changes set out in the Government White Paper, 'Liberating the NHS', which require primary legislation. The free movement of goods, including medicines, between member states of the European Union is a fundamental principle of the single market upon which the European Union is built, and therefore legislation to this end would be inappropriate. The Government will not take forward proposals to prevent the export of any medicinal products.

Departmental Travel

Ian Austin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was spent on his official travel in  (a) September and  (b) October 2010.

Nicholas Clegg: The cost of the Deputy Prime Minister's overseas visits is published by the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis
	http://download.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/transparency/dpm-overseas-travel.csv
	The total cost of his domestic travel will be made available at the end of the financial year once the Department's resource accounts have been fully audited and laid before Parliament.

Disability Living Allowance

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people receiving disability living allowance who will have the amount of benefit they receive reduced in each of the next three years.

Maria Miller: The Budget announced that from 2013-14 we would reform disability living allowance by introducing a new, more objective assessment to ensure support is focused on those with greatest need and distributed on a consistent, transparent basis, while continuing to tackle the inequalities that can arise from severe disability. We are developing the new assessment in collaboration with a group of independent health and disability specialists and representatives of disabled people. We intend to run a formal, public consultation exercise on our proposals in the coming months.
	The spending review announced that from 2012 we would withdraw payment of, but not entitlement to, the mobility component of disability living allowance to publicly
	funded residents in care homes once they have been there for 28 days. Local authority contracts with care homes should cover services to meet all a resident's assessed needs, including any assessed mobility needs, so an individual's care support and mobility needs should be met by residential care providers from social care funding. This measure will remove an overlap of public funds while ensuring that resources continue to be targeted at disabled people with the greatest needs.
	Disability living allowance mobility component recipients in residential care will continue to retain entitlement and payments will be reinstated should they leave residential care, subject to satisfying the normal conditions of entitlement. We estimate there are currently around 60,000 people in publicly funded care homes who are in receipt of the mobility component of DLA.

Welfare State: Reform

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what disability impact assessment he plans to undertake of the proposals for welfare reforms contained in the spending review.

Maria Miller: The Government are strongly committed to the principle of promoting equality. We take our duty to consider the impact of policy decisions on different groups of people very seriously.
	The Department for Work and Pensions assesses the equality impacts of any new policies or changes to existing policies and practice. To that end, there are a well established set of processes to help policy makers develop equality impact assessments based on a strong evidence base.
	The welfare reform measures contained in the spending review that require primary legislation will be included in the forthcoming Welfare Reform Bill. Alongside the publication of the Bill my Department will publish a full equality impact assessment of its contents, which will include an assessment of the impact of the Bill measures on disabled people.

Children in Care

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many section 51 (Children Act) refuge beds are available for children under the age of 16 years.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 4 November 2010
	Local authorities are responsible for deciding on the provision of refuge beds in the light of local need. We do not collect information centrally on the number of beds available.

Departmental Redundancy Pay

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what severance payments have been paid to  (a) Ministers and  (b) special advisers in his Department who left office after the last general election.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 16 September 2010
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr Maude) on 5 July 2010,  Official Report, column 55W.
	The Government are committed to publishing annually the total cost of special advisers in the form of a written ministerial statement by the Prime Minister. The total cost of severance paid out to special advisers who left office after the last general election will be published in due course.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Kingston Upon Thames

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of 16 to 18-year-olds in receipt of education maintenance allowance in Kingston Upon Hull East constituency who will no longer receive payments as a result of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 2 November 2010
	This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Ofsted: Inspections

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to reduce the level of administration associated with Ofsted inspections;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Ofsted inspections as a means of evaluating education outcomes.

Nick Gibb: Inspection is most effective where it is sharply focused on core issues and targeted at the schools, colleges and other children's services in most need of improvement. We intend, through our reforms, to reduce inspection related burdens and enhance the contribution that inspection makes to accountability and improvement. In terms of school inspection, we plan to streamline and re-focus arrangements around the core areas of achievement; teaching; leadership; and behaviour and safety, and free up outstanding schools from routine inspection. We have already signalled that the self-evaluation form, which presents a significant administrative burden on schools, will be removed from the end of this academic year. Further details on this programme of reform will be provided in the forthcoming Education White Paper.

School Leaving: Kent

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of students educated in Maidstone and the Weald constituency who left education at the age of 16 in each of the last three years.

Nick Gibb: Estimates of participation in education and training for 16 and 17-year-olds in each local authority in England are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June. The full SFR can be found on the Department's website:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000938/index.shtml
	and data by local authority is contained in the fifth set of tables listed on this page.
	These latest estimates show that 2,100 young people of academic age 16 in Kent were not in education or work-based learning at the end of 2008. These data do not go below local authority level and so figures for Maidstone and the Weald are not available.

School Leaving: Watford

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people in Watford constituency left full-time education at the age of  (a) 16 and  (b) 18 years in each year since 2000.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 8 November 2010
	Estimates of participation in education and training for 16 and 17-year-olds in each local authority in England are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June. The full SFR can be found on the Department's website:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000938/index.shtml
	and data by local authority is contained in the fifth set of tables listed on this page.
	The latest estimates show that 1,500 young people of academic age 16 in Hertfordshire were not in full-time education at the end of 2008, from a population of 14,500. The full time-series is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Table: Participation in full-time education of academic age 16 year olds in Hertfordshire 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 In full-time education(1) 10,800 10,400 10,700 10,900 11,300 11,600 12,300 12,600 13,000 
			 Not in full-time education(2) 1,700 2,400 2,200 2,500 2,400 2,200 1,800 1,800 1,500 
			 Population(3) 13,000 13,000 12,900 13,300 13,700 13,800 14,100 14,400 14,500 
			 (1) Participation is assigned to the local authority in which the young person is resident from 2001 onwards; in 2000 participation in maintained schools, City Technology Colleges and academies was assigned according to the address of the school. Figures are not available disaggregated into parliamentary constituencies or for academic age 18 year olds. (2) Numbers not in full-time education are based on subtracting unrounded full-time participation from unrounded population; hence estimates for participation in full-time education plus not in full-time education might not add up to the published population figure due to rounding. (3) Population estimates are rounded to the nearest 100 from 2002 onwards; prior to 2002 population is rounded to the nearest 1,000 in accordance with Office for National Statistics (ONS) guidelines at the time.

Schools: Hearing Impairment

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his most recent estimate is of the number of British sign language-qualified teachers teaching deaf children in mainstream schools  (a) nationally and  (b) in the West Midlands; and what qualifications such teachers are required to have.

Sarah Teather: We do not routinely collect data regarding the number of British sign language qualified teachers teaching deaf children in mainstream schools either nationally or by region. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that teachers of hearing impaired and deaf children possess the appropriate mandatory qualification to undertake the role. It is a matter for local authorities to ensure that they have enough qualified teachers to meet their statutory commitments.
	The school work force census should, from November 2011, collect data on additional qualifications held by teachers. This will allow us to ascertain the numbers of teachers who possess the mandatory qualification for teaching children with sensory impairments. This approach is subject to the outcome of a review of data collection activity.
	At the end of the year the Government plan to publish a Green Paper on special educational needs and disabilities, which will explore how we can improve support for all children with special educational needs and disabilities, including those who are deaf or hearing impaired.
	It is a priority to improve the educational outcomes for all children and we recognise the important role specialists, such as Teachers of the Deaf, play in meeting this goal.

Schools: Transport

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department and its predecessors have spent on  (a) taxis to school and  (b) other personalised forms of school transport in (i) St Albans and (ii) Hertfordshire in each of the last five years.

Tim Loughton: The Department and its predecessors have not centrally recorded expenditure to this level of detail and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The relevant local authority may be able to provide you with the information that you require.

Teachers Pensions

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to ensure that the changes to the Teacher's Pension Scheme proposed in the report by Lord Hutton on the future of public sector pensions are not implemented.

Nick Gibb: The coalition Government accept the conclusions in Lord Hutton's interim report on public service pensions, in particular:
	the importance of providing good quality pensions to public servants;
	the rejection of a race to the bottom in pension provision;
	the case for further reforms of public service pension schemes; and
	that members of public service schemes should pay more towards their pension benefits, in particular through the implementation of progressive changes to the level of employee contribution that will be phased in from April 2012.
	The coalition Government will await Lord Hutton's final recommendation, due in advance of Budget 2011, before considering the form and content of defined benefits going forward and the precise level of progressive contribution required. The nature and implementation of changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme will be the subject of detailed discussions in the coming months with teacher union and employer representatives.

Teachers: Training

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future of masters' programmes for continuing professional development of teachers.

Nick Gibb: The quality of teachers and their professional development are of the upmost importance and this is why we want to encourage more school-led professional development. We want to support teachers to progress further academically and to deepen their subject knowledge, and we are committed to developing a strong culture of professional development where more teachers acquire postgraduate qualifications. We are still considering what place the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) might have in supporting teachers to achieve this.

Anglo Irish Bank

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government are taking to support small investors in the UK who have lost money due to the collapse of the Anglo-Irish bank.

Mark Hoban: Retail depositors in Anglo Irish Bank have not lost any money. The bank continues to operate, and depositors continue to be protected by the Irish Depositor Guarantee scheme and an unlimited guarantee from the Irish Government.
	The Irish Government have announced that an assessor will be appointed by the Minister for Finance to assess whether compensation should be paid to former shareholders of Anglo Irish Bank.

Crown Currency Exchange

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions the Financial Services Authority (FSA) was contacted with concerns about the operations of Crown Currency Exchange Ltd before its collapse; and which  (a) organisations and  (b) individuals contacted the FSA.

Mark Hoban: The Financial Services Authority's (FSA's) day-to-day operations are independent from Government control and influence. I have asked the FSA to write to the hon. Member on the issue he raises.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of bringing forward proposals to make payments to Equitable Life members who purchased their policies prior to September 1992.

Mark Hoban: With Profits Annuitants (WPAs) who took out policies before 1 September 1992 did so before any maladministration could have affected their decisions, so therefore have not been included in the Government's proposed payment scheme.
	The Government are committed to implementing the parliamentary ombudsman's recommendation to introduce a fair and transparent payments scheme to Equitable Life policyholders for their relative loss as a result of regulatory failure.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of Equitable Life policyholders who purchased their policy prior to September 1992 who were affected by the maladministration of Equitable Life.

Mark Hoban: With profits annuitants (WPAs) who took out policies before 1 September 1992 fall outside of the Government's proposed payment scheme. Therefore we do not hold data on this group of policyholders.

Research and Development Tax Credit

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2010,  Official Report, column 668W, on the Research and Development Tax Credit, 
	(1)  what proportion of research tax credits he expects to be paid to  (a) manufacturing and  (b) financial services in each year to 2014-15;
	(2)  what proportion of receipts from corporation tax is derived from  (a) manufacturing and  (b) financial services.

David Gauke: Information on the amount of research and development tax credit paid is not broken down by industrial sector.
	Historical figures for corporation tax receipts paid by several broadly-defined business sectors are regularly updated and published in Table 11.1, on the HMRC National Statistics website. These include manufacturing and financial services excluding life receipts. The latest update is available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11.1.pdf

Revenue and Customs: Databases

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the  (a) merits and  (b) cost of introducing a real-time information system to the National Insurance and PAYE Service computer system.

David Gauke: In July this year, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published a discussion paper improving the operation of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE). The paper sought views on changes to PAYE, including a move to collect information about tax and other calculations in real time. This was the first stage of a consultation process to seek views and opinions from all interested parties regarding the benefit that real time information would bring to PAYE.
	Responses to the discussion paper indicate that there is strong support for the collection of real-time earnings information. A consultation paper will be issued in due course.
	Real time information will enable better data to be transmitted to the National Insurance and PAYE Service (NPS). It will also deregulate employers and improve the accuracy of PAYE and tax credits for individuals and HMRC.
	£100 million was allocated in the spending review to further improve the operation of PAYE, and build on the investments already made in NPS, using real time information.

Social Security Benefits

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what proportion of the estimate in the Social Security Forecast for Annual Managed Expenditure he expects to spend on  (a) the basic state pension,  (b) jobseeker's allowance,  (c) employment and support allowance, (d) housing benefit,  (e) council tax benefit and  (f) pension credit in each year to 2015.

Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
	Forecasts presented are in nominal terms, and therefore the main factor driving trends in the forecasts over the period shown is the uprating of benefits. Forecasts also reflect demographic changes, June Budget and spending review policy measures, and the ongoing effects of employment and support allowance replacing incapacity benefit. The jobseeker's allowance forecast includes additional claimants due to this, and also to the lone parent obligation.
	The information requested is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Annually managed expenditure, Great Britain 
			  £ million, nominal 
			   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13  2013-14  2014-15  2015-16 
			 Basic state pension 53,653 55,821 59,028 61,513 63,946 67,199 70,841 
			 Jobseekers allowance 4,690 4,568 4,974 5,080 5,028 4,871 4,579 
			 Employment and support allowance 1,268 2,749 4,899 6,491 8,174 9,861 10,665 
			 Housing benefit 19,978 21,536 21,913 21,735 20,825 21,499 22,042 
			 Council tax benefit 4,698 5,004 4,891 4,906 4,403 4,470 4,597 
			 Pension credit 8,133 7,960 7,572 7,340 7,069 6,942 6,865 
			 Total annually managed expenditure 147,430 152,246 156,226 158,728 159,762 164,403 170,669 
		
	
	
		
			  As proportion of total (percentage) 
			   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13  2013-14  2014-15  2015-16 
			 Basic state pension 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 
			 Jobseekers allowance 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
			 Employment and support allowance 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 
			 Housing benefit 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 
			 Council tax benefit 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
			 Pension credit 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 
			 Total annually managed expenditure 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
			  Note: Figures cover Great Britain only.  Source: June Budget forecasts with spending review measures

Tax Evasion

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he made of the cost to the economy of tax evasion in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: HMRC published the latest available estimates of the tax gap in September 2010 in "Measuring Tax Gaps 2010"
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/measuring-tax-gaps-2010.htm.pdf
	This included an illustrative split of the 2007-08 tax gap by taxpayer behaviour, based on management assumptions and judgment. This indicated that the amount of tax (income tax and NICs, corporation tax and VAT) lost to evasion is around 17.5% of the total, with the hidden economy accounting for a further 7.5%.

Broadband: Redditch

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of the funding allocated to broadband programmes in the Comprehensive Spending Review will be spent on programmes located in Redditch constituency.

Edward Vaizey: The information for non departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	To date no allocation of funds has been made for projects in the Redditch constituency, or any other constituency.

Business: Newton Abbot

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to increase access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises in Newton Abbot constituency.

Mark Prisk: The coalition Government have articulated its ambition to ensure the flow of credit to viable SMEs. The Government's has published its response to the consultation on business finance issues, "Financing a private sector recovery".
	It is available at
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/businessfinance
	There are various measures in place to support access to finance for SMEs. I aim to continue to support and improve the diversity of sources and access to finance for SMEs that meet their needs. Such sources of finance available to SMEs including those in your constituency of Newton Abbot were announced by the Chancellor in the budget and later enhanced by the Government's response to the consultation "Financing a private sector recovery":
	A four year extension to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) making around £2 billion available to viable small companies without a credit history or insufficient collateral. As at the 28 October, 11 businesses in the constituency of Newton Abbot have been offered EFG backed loans with a value of £69,000 all of which have been drawn.
	An increased commitment of the Enterprise Capital Fund by £200 million to support small businesses with the highest growth potential, providing more than £300 million of investment into the equity gap after both Government and private sector funding are combined.
	Welcoming a joint bid from business angels and the Government's SME investment arm, Capital for Enterprise Ltd., for a co-investment fund as part of the Regional Growth Fund. If successful, this would support angel investments into high growth potential early stage SMEs, particularly in areas worst affected by public spending cuts.
	Welcoming the banks' announcement of a new £1.5 billion Business Growth Fund, to provide equity funding of between £2 million and £10 million for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) with strong growth potential. The Government will also work with the British Bankers' Association's Business Finance Taskforce and banks on a range of commitments set out in their response to the green paper and which will assist small businesses with access to finance issues. These include mentoring and a new lending code.

Business: North East

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of jobs  (a) created and  (b) safeguarded as result of securing grants from the Grant for Business investment scheme in 2009-10; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse of each such job in the North East.

Mark Prisk: In 2009/10 332 offers were made and accepted under the Grant for Business Investment scheme. These were expected to create a total of 6,542 new jobs and safeguard 4,111 jobs. In the north-east the average cost to the public sector of each such job is £5,412.

Business: North East

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what factors he took into account when taking the decision to withdraw the Grant for Business investment scheme; how many applications were made to the Grant for Business investment scheme in the North East in 2009-10; how many offers of funding were made; and what the total monetary value of such offers was.

Mark Prisk: As is made clear in the Local Growth White Paper (Cm 7961), while the Grant for Business Investment scheme provided by the regional development agencies will cease with their closure, large scale cases will be considered, on an exceptional basis, by this Department.
	This decision took into account a wide range of relevant factors, including particularly the planned closure of the regional development agencies, the need to reduce the budget deficit and the likely future availability of other types of support for business.
	In the north-east 142 applications for support under the Grant for Business Investment scheme were received in 2009/10. Over the same period 73 offers of support were made and accepted. The total value of these offers was £17,524,000.

Copyright Tribunal

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many redundancies he expects there to be at the Copyright Tribunal as a result of the implementation of the Government's proposals for public bodies reform; and what he expects the (a) severance and (b) pension arrangements to be for employees.

Edward Davey: The Copyright Tribunal is not an employer in its own right and hence there are no redundancies envisaged. It will retain the expertise of its legally qualified and lay members after its transfer to the Tribunal Service. The Copyright Tribunal's Secretariat resource will transfer along with the Tribunal.

Debts: Complaints

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps have been taken since publication by the Office of Fair Trading of its Debt Management Guidance Compliance Review to increase awareness in the debt management sector of the Financial Ombudsman Service's rules on resolving consumer complaints.

Edward Davey: The compliance review has highlighted problems within this industry. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) set out the immediate steps it has taken in the report, including warning 129 non-compliant audited debt management firms, that they face losing their consumer credit licences unless they take immediate action to address identified areas of non-compliance, including bringing their consumer complaints handling procedures into line with the Financial Ombudsman Service's (FOS) rules. The OFT also disseminated its report to approximately 1,200 licensed providers of debt advice. On 2 November 2010, a senior director from the OFT gave a speech to over 200 representatives from the debt management industry at the main trade body's (Debt Resolution Forum) annual conference which sent a strong and clear message to the industry about the improvements it must make in the coming year, including addressing the OFT's concerns about poor levels of compliance with the FOS regime. In addition, the OFT plans to update its guidance and will continue to work with the two main trade bodies, the Debt Managers Standards Association (DEMSA) and the Debt Resolution Forum (DRF) to support their initiatives to introduce higher standards into the industry.

Debts: Licensing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on the process by which those debt management firms which do not provide independently audited evidence that they have brought their operations into compliance with OFT debt management guidance by the end of 2010 would have their licences revoked.

Edward Davey: The primary focus in 2010 for the team that investigates traders engaged in debt management activities at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been its review of compliance with its Debt Management Guidance (published on 28 September 2010) and taking subsequent enforcement action to warn 129 debt management firms about non-compliant business practices identified during the OFT's review. The firms were instructed to produce independently audited evidence confirming action that they have taken to address the identified areas of non compliance by the middle of December, and of the 129 firms, 30 have indicated that they will surrender their licences, 85 firms have agreed to comply and the OFT have initiated revocation action against 15 traders, but these figures may well change.

Dentistry: Higher Education

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what financial support his Department provides for dental students.

David Willetts: For the first four years of their course, undergraduate dentistry students receive financial support from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. This is administered by Student Finance England. Those with household incomes of up to £50,020 are entitled to a non-repayable maintenance grant, of which those with household incomes of £25,000 or less are entitled to the maximum grant amount of £2,906. Further means-tested grant support is available to those with caring responsibilities. All students are eligible for loans to cover their tuition fees and provide help towards their living costs. Those facing financial hardship can also apply for help from the discretionary Access to Learning Fund through their university.
	From the fifth year of their course, undergraduate dentistry students receive financial support from the Department of Health (DH). This includes an NHS Bursary and a reduced maintenance loan. DH will also pay the tuition fees of these students for these years.
	On top of this, the Government provide funding to universities via HEFCE. For the 2009/10 academic year, undergraduate dentistry degrees attracted £5,327 per student for the first year of the course; and attracted £14,242 per student for the remaining years of the course.

Departmental Reviews

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what departmental policy reviews his Department has undertaken since 6 May 2010; on what date each such review  (a) was announced and  (b) is expected to publish its findings; what estimate he has made of the cost of each such review; who has been appointed to lead each such review; to what remuneration each review leader is entitled; how many (i) full-time equivalent civil servants and (ii) seconded staff are working on each such review; from which organisations such staff have been seconded; and how much on average such seconded staff will be paid for their work on the review.

Edward Davey: The Department has undertaken six departmental policy reviews since 6 May 2006. Information on the estimated cost of each review is not held by the Department. Individuals recruited externally to chair reviews have been appointed in an advisory capacity and are not salaried staff. None of the external chairs have received remuneration, with the exception of Richard Hooper who received £19,183. Where BIS staff led reviews, they were recruited from within the Department and were not entitled to further payments for their work in addition to their normal salary. No staff have been seconded to the Department for Business to work on the reviews specifically.
	The following table sets out the information the hon. Member have asked for which the Department holds on these reviews.
	
		
			  Subject  Date review announced  Anticipated date of report  External Lead for each review  How many civil ser vants are working on the review  (full-time equivalents) 
			 Update of 2008 Independent Review of the Postal Services Sector 24 June 2010 Report was published on 10 September 2010 Richard Hooper 0.5 
			  
			 Consumer Credit and Personal Insolvency Review 13 July 2010 Early 2011 Led internally by BIS 2.7 
			  
			 Offender Learning 20 July 2010 November 2010 Led internally by BIS 1.2 
			 Review of the Design Council 16 July 2010 The review was published on 14 October Martin Temple CBE, chair of EEF and a board member of the Design Council 2.5 
			  
			 Women on Boards 6 August 2010 February 2011 Lord Davies (1)1 
			  
			 Red-tape burdens that fall on small civil society organisations 17 August Report to Ministers in early 2011 Lord Hodgson (1)1 
			 (1 )From BIS

Green Investment Bank

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the oral answer of 20 October 2010,  Official Report, column 985, on the Green Investment Bank, which Government assets he plans to sell to provide funding for the proposed Green Investment Bank; how much funding he expects to be raised from each asset sale; and what proportion of the funding accruing from each asset sale will be allocated to the Green Investment Bank.

Mark Prisk: To give information on expected proceeds from individual asset sales would prejudice the Government's commercial position in ongoing and future sale processes. However, at an aggregate level, the Government are confident that the asset sales they are considering will be sufficient to provide significant additional funding above the £1 billion allocated to the Green Investment from departmental budgets. It will make further announcements on this funding stream in due course.

Hallowe'en Lanterns

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions his Department has had with manufacturers of Hallowe'en lanterns to ensure lanterns are constructed from materials which are biodegradeable.

Edward Davey: I believe you are referring to sky (Chinese) lanterns rather then lanterns specifically for Halloween. My Department has had no discussions with the manufacturers who are numerous and located in Asia. However, in August, officials did write to all UK local authority trading standards offices asking them to contact importers and retailers of lanterns to ensure that only sky lanterns which are bio-degradable be placed on the market.

One NorthEast: Assets

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the residual  (a) assets and  (b) liabilities are of One NorthEast.

Mark Prisk: We are in the early stages of RDA closure and transition. Until this process is complete we will not know what the residual assets and liabilities of each RDA will be.

Particle Accelerators

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the potential creation of strangelets in the operation of (i) apparatus in the UK producing high-energy ion collision and (ii) the CERN Large Hadron Collider.

David Willetts: The Secretary of State has not commissioned any research into this matter, as the UK has no equipment capable of producing strangelets, even if they exist.
	CERN has conducted its own safety assessments. The Large Hadron Collider Safety Assessment Group (LSAG), a group of independent scientists, concluded in 2002-03 that there was no conceivable risk from the collisions at the LHC. Their assessment was re-examined by CERN's Scientific Policy Committee (SPC), a group of external scientists that advises CERN's governing Council, and they confirmed these conclusions, which include the assessment that the LHC is not capable of producing strangelets.
	In 2008 and in the light of new experimental data and theoretical understanding, the LHC Safety Assessment Group (LSAG) updated the 2003 analysis. The LSAG reaffirmed and extended the conclusions of the 2003 report that LHC collisions present no danger and that there are no reasons for concern. The LSAG noted that the LHC will produce, under controlled conditions, events that have already taken place many times over during the lifetime of the Earth and other astronomical bodies.

Patents: EC Law

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will discuss with his EU counterparts the enforcement of cost orders emanating from patent judgments by the EU Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market.

Edward Davey: The Office of Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM), situated in Alicante in Spain, registers trade marks and designs registrations, but not patents. Adversarial proceedings before this office do attract cost awards against losing parties according to a scale set out in Rule 94 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2868/95 of 13 December 1995 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 on the Community trade mark. There is no duty on the OHIM to enforce such costs, which is a matter for the parties concerned under civil law provisions. I am aware that such orders, which involve relatively low sums of money, are not routinely honoured or vigorously pursued. Though I have no plans to discuss this with my EU counterparts I will be asking my officials to determine whether non- payment is a source of particular disquiet to legal professionals and to successful litigants.

Regional Development Agencies

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the liabilities of regional development agencies on his Department's budgets for local regeneration projects.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 4 November 2010
	The Department does not directly fund local regeneration projects but has overall responsibility for the regional development agencies single pot which includes funding from other Departments for this activity. The majority of RDA liabilities are represented by existing legal commitments in respect of local economic development and regeneration projects

Regional Development Agencies: Assets

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to paragraph 2.44 of the Local Growth White Paper, Cm 7961, what the governance framework is for the disposal of regional development agency assets and liabilities.

Mark Prisk: Until new legislation comes into force, RDA assets and liabilities will be disposed of by the relevant RDA within the existing statutory framework (The Regional Development Agencies Act 1998) which in practice means that disposal decisions will continue to reflect the RDAs' statutory purposes particularly the need to further the economic development and regeneration within the relevant area while ensuring maximum public value in line with HM Treasury guidance on Managing Public Money. Disposals will be overseen by the relevant RDA Board and within that RDA's assurance framework and will take place within a strong governance framework for RDA closure led by BIS with CLG and HM Treasury membership of the Transition Board.

Regional Growth Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of the Regional Growth Fund he plans to allocate to  (a) housing and  (b) transport projects.

Mark Prisk: The objectives and criteria for the Regional Growth Fund are set out in the Local Growth White Paper, 'Local growth: realising every place's potential', which was published on 28 October and introduced to Parliament by an oral statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills made on that day,  Official Report, column reference 408.
	The Regional Growth Fund is a challenge fund and not ring-fenced or pre-allocated in any way to keep it flexible and responsive to the economic development needs of the country. The support offered for particular sectors or types of economic activity will depend on the strength of bids to the fund to deliver its core objectives of creating private sector jobs and growth. Decisions on successful proposals will be based on recommendations by the independent Advisory Panel, chaired by my noble Friend Lord Heseltine.

Regional Growth Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will direct the Regional Growth Fund to commit an annual sum to research and development funding no less than the annual sum committed to regional development agencies for such purposes.

Mark Prisk: The objectives and criteria for the Regional Growth Fund are set out in the Local Growth White Paper, 'Local growth: realising every place's potential', which was published on 28 October and introduced to Parliament by an oral statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills made on that day,  Official Report, column reference 408.
	The Regional Growth Fund is a challenge fund and not ring-fenced or pre- allocated in any way to keep it flexible and responsive to the economic development needs of the country. The support offered for particular sectors or types of economic activity will depend on the strength of bids to the fund to deliver its core objectives of creating private sector jobs and growth. Decisions on successful proposals will be based on recommendations by the independent Advisory Panel, chaired by my noble Friend Lord Heseltine.

Research Councils: Finance

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to announce the budget allocation for each research council for the comprehensive spending review period; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: In the recent spending review the Chancellor announced that the Government will spend £4.6 billion on science and research programmes in each of the next four years within a ring-fenced budget. Capital and administration spending on science and research have not yet been decided.
	In the coming weeks, Ministers will make decisions on the balance of funding between research councils, HEFCE's research and knowledge transfer activities, the national academies and other programmes. We expect this will be completed by Christmas. Detailed decisions on specific projects will be taken by funding bodies, in line with the Haldane Principle.

Royal Mail and Post Office: Redundancy

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of jobs he expects to be lost in  (a) Royal Mail and  (b) the Post Office as a result of his proposals for future ownership of Royal Mail.

Edward Davey: To secure its future, whether in the public or private sector, Royal Mail has to improve its efficiency and this will regrettably mean a further loss of jobs in the company. The Business Transformation agreement between the company and the CWU recognises this. The number of job losses will be an operational matter for the company.
	Under proposals set out in the Postal Service Bill, we have made it clear that Post Office Ltd (POL) is not for sale. The employment of staff in post offices is a matter for Post Office Ltd for Crown post offices, and for individual sub-postmasters in their own sub-post offices. As with Royal Mail, POL has to ensure that it operates efficiently, but the Government have committed that there will be no further programmes of post office closures.

Royal Mail: Stoke on Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has made an assessment of the likely effects on Stoke-on-Trent Royal Mail centre of the proposed consolidation of service provision within Royal Mail.

Edward Davey: The provision of postal services in the Stoke-on-Trent area is an operational matter for Royal Mail. The company is taking forward a business transformation plan, agreed with the CWU, which will see a restructuring of its mail centres and other operational changes. Royal Mail has to improve its efficiency so that it can secure its future in a market where letters volumes continue to decline. Its half year results, which reported a £66 million loss in the letters' business, emphasised the need for change.
	I have asked the chief executive at Royal Mail to write to you and provide an update on any operational changes in the Stoke-on-Trent area and a copy will be placed in the House Libraries.

Science: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much of his Department's capital budget for science for 2011-12 has been allocated to the funding of  (a) long-term and  (b) international partnerships and projects.

David Willetts: The allocations of capital budgets for science and research, following the recent spending review have not yet been decided.
	In the coming months, Ministers will make decisions on the balance of funding between the individual research councils, HEFCE's research and knowledge transfer activities, the national academies and other programmes. Detailed decisions on funding for long-term and international partnerships and projects will be taken by funding bodies in line with the Haldane Principle.

Females: Offenders

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much the Government Equalities Office spent under each budget heading on holding events on women offenders in 2009-10; and how many staff were involved in organising these events.

Lynne Featherstone: In 2009-10 the Government Equalities Office (GEO) held a series of one-day stakeholder events with local service providers in England and Wales as part of the Department's contribution to the Government's strategy to divert women from crime following Baroness Corston's report on women in the criminal justice system.
	The events brought together key agencies together, from across the third and statutory sector, in order to consider how best to utilise the gender equality duty to meet the distinct needs of women offenders.
	The total cost of hosting these 10 events was £184,510.70 and the total number of GEO full-time equivalent staff involved in their organisation was 1.5.